Dharamsala, popularly known as the ‘Queen
of the Hills’, is divided into lower
and upper towns with a difference of
457m(1500ft.) between them. The mountains
enfold 3 sides of the town and the valley
stretches to the south. There is a beautiful
resort of Dharamsala, which stands on the
spur of the Dharamsala range Dharamsala is
known for its scenic beauty, calmness and
serenity. It has high pine trees, tea
gardens and timber yielding trees
Dharamsala is now the seat of His Holiness,
the Dalai Lama. After the Chinese conquest
of his country, Dharamsala is evocative of
the imperial days in places like Mcleod Ganj
and Forsythe Ganj. Dharamsala is the
headquarters of the Kangra district. It
became the capital in 1852 and is 125 years
old.
An earthquake once wrecked Dharamsala in
1905. Since 1960, it became temporary
headquarters of the Dalai Lama and has risen
to international repute as " The little
Lhasa in India". After the Indo-Chinese and
Indo-Pak wars, the govt. erected war
memorials of jawans and officers belonging
to Kangra, who died in the war.
Tibetan environment has been created in the
high altitude, and more than 3000 Tibetans
have made Dharamsala their temporary home,
living mostly in Mcleod Ganj. To add to its
beauty, there is an artificial stream
flowing, gleaming with gold fish.
Tibetans took shelter in India in 1959. In
the wake of Dalai Lama’s flight from
Tibet, 85000 Tibetans were devastated. Their
spiritual leader dalai lama given up the
hope of a free Tibet, but to keep the
Tibetan art alive, efforts have been made to
preserve them. Tibet’s unique form of
Thongka painting, woodcarving, metal –crafts
and music are very famous. Tibetan works and
archive are preserved in the library at
Dharamsala where Buddhist monks from distant
refugee camps come to study ancient
manuscripts.
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